JC: Ed Biggers
Part 6: Doyen
Chapter 19
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

After Claire had dropped them off at the entrance, Kelly, Ling, and 
Ed walked into the Maria's Cantina located in Phoenix. They did 
not expect to find Maria there since she had retired from the day to 
day operation of the restaurants. She continued to manage what 
had become a growing chain, but had left inspections and quality 
control to her sister Rosa. 

The reason they were at the restaurant was a mystery to everyone. 
Ed had a feeling that something important was going to happen 
and asked Claire to turn into the restaurant at the last minute. It 
was almost as if William had shouted, "Go there now!"

As the door clanged to a close behind her, Ling asked, "What are 
we doing here?"

"I don't know," Ed answered as he looked over the restaurant with 
narrowed eyes. Two coarse looking Hispanic men in their early 
twenties were crowded together in front of the register. The 
woman at the register looked frightened, but he couldn't see why 
until one of the men turned such that a gun was visible. Shaking 
his head, he said, "Robbery."

Ling spun around to see what he meant and saw the activity at the 
cash register. She was ready to move when one of the holdup men 
saw them and shouted, "Oh shit!"

The other holdup man looked over at Ed and Kelly standing at the 
door in their robes. He frowned for a second without saying a word 
and studied the Druids at the door with dead eyes. He raised his 
gun and aimed directly at Ed. Ed had no doubts the young man was 
going to fire and, from five feet away, there wasn't any chance he 
would miss. Before the holdup man had a chance to pull the 
trigger, he was thrown against the counter before falling to the 
ground. A young man had plowed into him with a football tackle 
and taken him out. The young man followed the gunman to the 
floor pounding on him with his fist. 

Quick to protect the family, Ling leapt into the fight. She took out 
the second gunman with a single blow to the neck before he could 
shoot their rescuer or Ed. Never one to use a subtle approach, she 
made sure the man wouldn't ever be able to fire his pistol. A pair of 
pistols lay on the floor where the gunmen had dropped them. She 
kicked the loose pistols away from the area of the action.

Even as Ling was taking care of the second gunman, Ed moved to 
protect the woman behind the counter. Despite the fact she was on 
the verge of hysteria, it didn't take long for him to get her well 
away from the register area. Once in the kitchen, Ed shouted to get 
through her emotional state. "It's okay. You're safe now."

The typical noise of a restaurant kitchen died as the cooks and 
dishwasher noticed what was going on. Curious cooks crowded 
around the pair hoping to discover why the cashier was in the 
kitchen crying her eyes out. Outside of whispered comments to 
each other, all other noise disappeared.

The cashier clung to Ed for dear life, sobbing emotionally. Her 
entire life had passed before her eyes and, considering what little 
of it there had been, she was underwhelmed. Putting his arms 
around her, he hugged and comforted her as best he could without 
knowing what was actually going through her mind. Shaking his 
head, Ed thought to himself that it had been a long time since he 
had rescued a damsel. He knew the wives would give him lots of 
grief over this.

"It's about time you rescued another woman. I was beginning to get 
worried about you," Kelly said from behind Ed in a voice that was 
highly amused. She had a hard time suppressing a laugh at the look 
he gave her.

Without releasing the woman, Ed said, "I knew you were going to 
say something about this."

"Claire is out there having a fit about this little episode," Kelly said 
looking over her shoulder and through the window of the service 
door. She could see Claire gesturing angrily at Ling. 

The woman finally collected herself and pulled away from Ed. 
Smiling down at her, he pulled his ever-present handkerchief from 
his pocket and presented it to her. She accepted it and dabbed her 
eyes to remove her tears. In a calm comforting voice, Ed asked, 
"Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, I am," she replied before blowing her nose into the hanky. 
She blushed at the noise she made.

Looking around for some place for her to sit, Ed noticed the 
manager's office. Opening the door, he said, "Why don't you wait 
in here until you've collected yourself?"

Unaware that anything had happened in the store, the manager rose 
out of her chair curious as to why her cashier was being led into 
the office by a stranger. She asked, "What's going on here?"

The woman, having someone she knew at hand, rushed over to the 
manager and hugged her. Upset once again, she cried out, "We 
were almost robbed and he stopped it."

Looking past the woman, the manager saw enough of Ed to make 
out his attire. Her eyes got big upon catching sight of the black 
robe. Swallowing heavily, she asked, "Ed Biggers?"

"Yes."

"I'll call Maria and let her know what has happened. I'm sure that 
she'll want to talk to you," the manager said. Everyone who 
worked for Maria or Rosa knew about the black robed Druid who 
was a friend of the pair. It was half a second later when she noticed 
Kelly standing behind Ed wearing her Green robe. 

As the manager took care of the cashier, Ed turned to face Kelly. 
Curious, he asked, "Who was the hero?"

"I don't know," answered Kelly knowing that Ed was referring to 
the man who had taken out the gunman. She said, "He didn't stop 
pounding on the guy until Ling asked him if she could have a turn. 
I think she was rather impressed."

"What impressed her? The fact that he kept hammering on him 
long after it was necessary or that he stopped to give her a turn?" 
Ed asked wryly. 

"Hard to say," Kelly said with a chuckle. 

Ed took Kelly by the hand and said, "Let's go see what's happening 
out front."

The couple went through the service door. Where the kitchen had 
been quiet, the area around the cash register was absolute chaos. 
The authorities were already there in full force since the restaurant 
was only two minutes from a hospital and one minute from a 
police station. 

A very irritated Ling was arguing with a policeman. Claire was 
arguing with a different policeman about his failure to follow 
proper crime scene procedures. Two men were loading the gunman 
who had tried to kill Ed onto a gurney. The other gunman had been 
covered and Ed shook his head at the unnecessary death. The 
young man who had tackled the gunman was standing to the side 
with his hands behind his back. It was clear that he was 
handcuffed.

After looking around at the chaos for several seconds, Ed shouted, 
"Everyone quiet!"

The two cops spun to see who had made the noise. Seeing two 
Druids, they immediately froze and reconsidered their reactions to 
outside interference. It was well known in law enforcement circles 
that when a Druid wanted to take over a crime scene it was best to 
stand out of their way. Pointing at one of the policemen, Ed said, 
"You, remove the handcuffs from that man and take his statement. 
You, come over here and take my statement."

The two policemen moved to follow his commands. The senior 
policeman showed up and opened his notepad as he said, "Sorry, I 
didn't realize that Druids were involved."

Ignoring the reference to Druids being involved, Ed said, "My 
name is Ed Biggers -- spelled like it sounds."

He paused as the cop busily scribbled his name down in the 
notepad. Once he was sure the cop had his name correct, Ed, 
pointing to the man on the gurney, continued, "He was about to 
shoot me when that man over there tackled him. I have no idea 
who he is, but he definitely saved my life."

"His name is Chuck Chambers," the cop mumbled as he wrote 
furiously. The last thing he wanted to do was to screw up in front 
of a Druid. 

Making note of the name, Ed said, "The man under the sheet 
moved to shoot that young man and my wife took him out. I'm 
afraid that she took the expedient approach and made it permanent. 
It is a clear case of self-defense. He was armed with a pistol and 
my wife was unarmed."

"Does she have martial arts training?" asked the cop. He had seen 
the results of her blow to the neck and knew what it implied.

"Yes. She's nationally ranked," answered Ed.

"So she wasn't exactly unarmed?" 

"You know that deadly force is allowed against a man using a gun 
during the execution of a crime," countered Ed.

"True," replied the cop after a moment of thought. It wasn't quite 
true if the person facing a criminal was a policeman. It was strict 
department policy that they were to shoot to stop rather than shoot 
to kill even if the criminal was shooting at him. He asked, "What's 
the black woman got to do with this?"

"She's one of our security people and a former Phoenix police 
officer," answered Ed.

The cop looked over at Ed for a moment as the coins finally 
dropped and he realized with whom he was dealing. Looking down 
at his notes, he said, "I should talk to the cashier and get her 
version of the events."

"She's in the manager's office. It's through the service door over 
there," Ed said while pointing towards the door.

"Thank you. If I have anymore questions I'll get in touch with your 
people," said the cop backing away. The sooner he could get these 
people out of here, the happier he would be. 

Smiling, Ed watched the cop head into the kitchen. The young man 
who had tackled the gunman came up and said, "Hey, I didn't see 
you there when I went after that guy. If I had known a Druid was 
around, I'd have let you handle it. I hope you're not disappointed 
that I charged in and stole your action. You'd have probably 
handled it a whole lot better than I did. I'm really sorry."

Stunned, Ed stared at the guy incredulous at what he was saying. 
Shaking his head, Ed said, "Chuck…"

"Wow, you Druids are really amazing. You even know my name," 
exclaimed the young man. For years he had heard about how 
Druids were heroes who rescued people in nearly impossible 
circumstances. In his mind, he had built them up into superheroes 
and wouldn't have been surprised to see one leap a tall building in 
a single bound. Not realizing that Ling was with Ed, he turned to 
her and asked, "Can you believe this guy was actually able to guess 
my name?"

Barely able to keep from laughing, Ling answered, "The officer 
told him your name."

"Oh," replied Chuck feeling a little embarrassed.

"I'm very glad you took care of the situation. He was about to 
shoot me and there was nothing I could have done about it. I'd 
have been dead if not for you," Ed said.

"Oh," replied Chuck thoughtfully. He frowned when it dawned on 
him that Ed wasn't a superhero. He studied Ed and Kelly with an 
eye that was a little more realistic in its appraisal. In a quieter 
voice, he said, "Then I'm glad that I acted the way that I did."

Ed examined Chuck carefully. He appeared to be in his late 
twenties, although he was already showing signs of male pattern 
baldness. He stood nearly six feet tall and weighed 180 pounds. 
The tackle he had used to take out the gunman suggested the man 
had played high school football. The fact that he hadn't gone to 
flab further suggested he still worked out to keep trim.

Claire came up and said, "I've got us a table over there in the 
corner where we can wait until the keystone cops get done."

"What's the matter?"

"Just a little irritated those two immediately assumed Ling and 
Chuck had done something wrong," answered Claire with a hint of 
disgust in her voice. She shot a dirty look in the direction of one of 
the policemen. She was probably much better trained than either 
officer, but they had her writing parking tickets and that still grated 
on her nerves.

"Come with us, Chuck. I'd like a chance to talk with you a little 
more," said Ed letting the topic of Claire's frustration drop. He 
knew it was a residual consequence of her treatment while she was 
with the Phoenix Police Department. 

Ed went back to the table Claire had indicated earlier. Chuck 
followed, but stopped at another table and picked up a glass of 
watery soda from it. Ed sat down and looked around the restaurant. 
Most of the guests had cleared out as a result of the excitement. 

Chuck sat down and said, "I don't know what to call you."

"Oh, sorry. I'm Ed Biggers. The oriental dynamo over there is 
Ling, one of my wives. The lady in the green robe is Kelly, another 
one of my wives. The black woman is Claire. She's one of our 
security people."

Chuck wondered what kind of mission Ed was on that required a 
security detail. Rather than ask the question, he asked, "Is Ling the 
person who took out the other robber?"

"Yes, she did. He was about to shoot you," answered Ed.

"I had figured another one of the customers would take care of 
him. Just about everyone in here was a man," said Chuck shaking 
his head. Disturbed that none of the other men in the restaurant had 
acted, he added, "A lady shouldn't have to get involved in a brawl 
like that."

"Ling has trained her whole life to be able to act in those kinds of 
situations." Ed wasn't going to mention that Ling had a tendency to 
use more force than necessary. It bothered him a lot and he was 
going to talk with her about it later.

Looking around the restaurant, Chuck said, "Well, consider me old 
fashioned, but I think men should step up to these kinds of things 
and protect women. I'm not a chauvinist, you understand. It's just a 
fact that most men are physically stronger than women are."

Hardly surprised at the way Chuck had phrased it, Ed asked, "So 
you think the strong should protect the weak?"

"Well, the weak should always be protected. You don't have a 
civilized society otherwise," answered Chuck with a negligent 
shrug of his shoulders. He felt that he had just uttered a universal 
truth and didn't need to justify it any more than stating it.

"What do you do for a living?" asked Ed as Kelly and Ling joined 
them at the table.

Chuck sat up straighter and answered, "I own a little networking 
company. We've been doing Metropolitan Area Networks for a lot 
of the towns in this state and now we're connecting the towns. We 
just got the contract to expand and maintain the state highway 
network. In fact, I was here to celebrate the signing of the contract 
before heading back to the office to announce the fact to my 
employees."

Ling and Kelly exchanged glances, impressed by the 
accomplishments of someone who was so young. Ed knew that a 
company capable of landing city and state contracts for networking 
couldn't be little. He estimated the worth of the young man was 
close to hundred and twenty million and appreciated the fact that 
he wasn't boasting about how rich he was. He said, "Impressive. I 
hope you're an honest man. That's a lot of responsibility."

"You bet. I know people's lives could depend on my networks 
being up. You can't cut corners on something so important. I mean, 
imagine someone having an accident in the middle of the desert 
and no one able to contact the authorities because the network is 
down. The thought gives me nightmares," said Chuck as his body 
shook because of a shiver that ran down his spine.

"Yes, we tend to rely upon the infrastructure of this country 
without giving it much thought," commented Kelly even as she 
glanced over at Ling with a meaningful look. 

Ling was about to ask a question when a shout rang out through 
the restaurant, "Ed, where are you?"

Smiling upon identifying the speaker based on her voice, Ed 
shouted, "Rosa, we're back here."

Rosa charged into the dining room and made a beeline for the 
table. Breathless, Rosa asked, "Are you guys alright?"

Chuckling at her flushed face and flustered expression, Ed 
answered, "Yes, we're fine."

"Thank you for stopping that robbery."

"Chuck here deserves a lot of the credit for that, Rosa," explained 
Ed while gesturing to the young man seated next to him. 

Taking a seat, Rosa listened as Ed described what had happened. 
While Ed talked, Kelly gestured to Ling by pointing to one of the 
fingers on her left hand. Ling followed through on the implied 
instruction and then winked back at Kelly with a cat ate the canary 
grin. The woman held a whispered conversation while Ed, Chuck, 
and Rosa talked about the attempted robbery.

The conversation at the table was interrupted when the senior 
police officer came over to the table and, after waiting for a pause 
in the discussion, announced, "Our investigation is finished. I need 
contact information so that we can forward it to the DA."

Simultaneously, Ed and Chuck reached for their cards. Ed handed 
over a family card and Chuck handed over one of his business 
cards. While they were doing that, the cashier came over to talk to 
Rosa.

The cop glanced at the cards and nodded his head. In a respectful 
tone of voice, he said, "Thank you."

As they left, Chuck commented, "You know, sometimes when 
people find that you have a bit of money they start treating you 
differently from others. When that other police officer found out 
who I was, he started saying 'yes sir' and 'no sir.' It bothers me that 
people treat others based on how much money a person is worth."

Trying hard not to laugh, Kelly said, "I've observed the same 
thing."

Glancing at his watch, Chuck stood and said, "I better be going. I'll 
tell the cashier to put your bill on mine. It's been a pleasure ..."

Rosa interrupted, "You don't have to worry about ever paying for a 
meal at a Maria's Cantina again."

"What do you mean?" asked Chuck confused by her statement. 

"I'll get you a lifetime card for free meals," said Rosa unaware of 
the wealth of the man who had stopped the robbery.

"She's one of the owners of this chain," said Ed with a smile.

"Oh, I didn't realize that. I don't really need that. I'll let you buy my 
lunch today, but that's all," said Chuck turning down the offer with 
a grin.  He pointed to Ling and said, "If anyone deserves such a 
card, it is Ling. She saved my life."

Everyone at the table laughed at the suggestion. Rosa answered, 
"I've been trying to give them free meals for years without 
success."

It was well known that most Druids were not wealthy individuals. 
The press often made a point of that when they covered a story 
involving a Druid, so Chuck was rather surprised to learn that these 
Druids turned down the chance to save a little money. Rather than 
pursue the issue, he said, "Well, I'll let you folks be on your way. 
I'm sure that you have something far more important to do than 
talk with me."

With a nudge from Ling, Kelly handed him a family card as she 
said, "I'd like to invite you for dinner Friday evening. I'm sure that 
our place is out of your way, so be prepared to spend the night."

Chuck glanced down at the card and then took a double take. 
Pursing his lips, he asked, "Carter Clan? As in John Carter?"

When everyone else smiled, Rosa answered, "Yes."

"Oh," Chuck said finding it hard to believe that he had been talking 
to some of the richest people in the country. He decided that he had 
been very lucky this afternoon to find someone who would make a 
very valuable business partner. After a moment of thought, he said, 
"Sure, I'll come by Friday."

"Great," said Ling with a large smile. 

Later that evening, Ed and Ling discussed her use of deadly force 
in the restaurant. Ed said, "One of our rules is to protect the weak 
from the strong. That doesn't give you permission to kill the 
strong."

"He was armed and dangerous," countered Ling.

"You could have disarmed him."

This was not the first time that they had this discussion. Ling 
looked around the room for half a minute before she said, "It isn't a 
game when you go up against someone better armed than you. It is 
a matter of life and death. I was not trained to allow another to 
have the chance to kill me because I wasn't willing to do what was 
necessary to end it as quickly as possible."

"You could have disarmed him without increasing your risk 
much," answered Ed.

"I would willingly die to protect you, but I won't risk one hair of 
my head to protect someone who wants to hurt you," Ling 
answered. She crossed her arms and turned away, thereby putting 
an end to the discussion. She was going to protect the family 
regardless of the consequences to herself. 

Looking at Ling, Ed knew that he would never convince her to 
show restraint against an armed attacker.  He knew it wasn't fair to 
ask her to do so. She was a warrior and when she fought, she 
treated it as a very serious matter. One of the few things he 
remembered his father telling him was that when someone pointed 
a gun at you, you had better say your prayers because they held 
your life in their hands and they never had your best interests at 
heart. He sighed and dropped the matter.

Friday afternoon found Ed in his study putting the finishing 
touches on the first draft of his book. Sitting back, he looked at the 
computer monitor with a smile, pleased with how much material 
he had managed to cover. He waited for the cursor to change from 
the hourglass to a pointer to indicate that the files were saved. It 
seemed to take forever, but finally it was done. Happy, he told the 
monitor, "I'm glad that's all done."

The computer monitor didn't reply. 

Ed grabbed the mouse and shut down his machine. Just before the 
computer turned off, he glanced at the clock and saw the time. 
There wasn't enough time for him to sneak in a quick swim before 
their guest arrived for dinner. He stood and wiped his face in an 
effort to restore his focus, but he still felt drained from his 
afternoon of work. He looked back at the clock on his desk 
deciding that there was enough time for a quick shower. 

He went downstairs to the bedroom of his apartment and took off 
his robe. Showering didn't take long, but dressing did since he 
wondered what were the appropriate clothes to wear. Kelly and 
Ling had set up this dinner for reasons that weren't clear to him and 
they had actually giggled while discussing it that morning. He 
decided to keep it simple and selected jeans, work shirt, and boots.

Walking into the atrium of the house, Ed looked around at his 
surroundings. The plants through the center of the room lent a nice 
earthy smell to the house. The waterfall in the center of the garden 
made a soothing sound that was augmented with the sounds of 
frogs calling out to each other. Sighing in satisfaction, Ed loved 
everything about his house and didn't want to ever leave it for an 
extended period of time ever again.

Kelly came out of her apartment and walked over to join him. She 
was wearing a very nice pale blue dress that came to just above her 
knee. It was tight around her waist, but its' best feature was the 
neckline that showed her cleavage. Looking over her with a lover's 
eye, Ed said, "Um, you look good enough to eat."

"I'd hate to spoil your appetite for dinner," Kelly teased, "maybe I 
should change out of these clothes and into something frumpy."

"No, that's okay. I'll have you for desert," replied Ed attempting a 
leer. Putting an arm around her, he asked, "So what's up with 
dinner tonight?"

Leroy came out of his room wearing a pair of blue dress pants and 
a light blue shirt. He hadn't changed his clothes after returning 
from the lab. Seeing Ed and Kelly, he went over and hugged them 
both. Smiling, he said, "I hear that we are having a special guest 
tonight."

"Just the guy who saved Ed's life the other day," replied Kelly.

"Yeah, he's real nice guy. Seems to have a good character and is 
pretty smart," said Ed.

"Is he good looking?" asked Linda as she came up from behind 
them.

Ed turned to look at her. Even though she was six months 
pregnant, Ed thought she looked sexier than ever. Releasing Kelly, 
he went over to Linda and embraced her. Kissing her gently, he 
asked, "How's the mother-to-be feeling?"

"Fat," she answered with a wink at Kelly. She'd answered that 
question the same way ever since she had confirmed that she was 
pregnant. This pregnancy was far different from her first. There 
hadn't been any morning sickness; she'd had lots of energy and no 
cramps. 

"Want me to rub some of that cream onto your tummy?" asked Ed 
wanting to do something special for her. He ran a hand over her 
stomach trying to feel the life growing inside.

"Later. Ling just finished creaming my belly," answered Linda 
with a smile. Ling had also spent about thirty minutes between her 
legs giving her a lot of pleasure. 

Leroy grinned and said, "Sounds obscene."

"Oh, it is -- especially if done correctly," Linda retorted with an 
equally large grin. 

The quiet time was interrupted when Betsy came running down the 
atrium and, in an excited voice, asked, "Are we really having 
company tonight for dinner?"

"Yes," answered Ed.

Cathy came walking towards them and said, "A Mr. Chuck 
Chambers has arrived. I put him in the formal living room."

Betsy took off for the living room to meet their guest. Shaking her 
head at the energy expended by the little girl, Kelly said, "If she 
doesn't scare him off, no one will."

"Scare him off?" asked Ed wondering why Betsy would scare a 
dinner guest off. He stopped to consider what Kelly might have 
meant. 

After a rather boring and uneventful dinner, Ed and Leroy sat back 
in their chairs on the roof of the house to watch the sunset. A small 
table between their chairs was set with a pitcher of iced tea and 
glasses. Looking over at their guest, Leroy asked, "Would you care 
for some iced tea?"

Chuck shifted nervously, wondering why the two men had invited 
him to the roof. It was hot and he was sweating in his suit coat. 
The idea of a cold drink appealed to him and he replied, "Sure."

While Leroy poured three glasses of iced tea, Ed repeated his 
suggestion a second time since arriving on the roof. "You might 
want to get comfortable and take off that suit coat."

"Oh, thanks," replied Chuck. He wrestled the coat off, finding that 
the sudden exposure of his sweat-soaked shirt to the dry desert air 
brought a chill. For a moment, he looked around for a place to put 
the coat and finally decided to drape it over the back of his chair. 

Leroy handed out the glasses of iced tea, keeping one for him. 
Sighing, he said, "It looks like we're going to have a glorious 
sunset tonight."

"It sure does," agreed Ed with a satisfied smile. 

"So what are we doing up here?" asked Chuck after several 
minutes of silence had passed. He was ready to get down to 
business and felt that these long periods of silence were some sort 
of negotiating tactic. He just didn't know what he was negotiating.

Puzzled by the question, Ed looked at Chuck wondering what he 
thought they were doing up on the roof if it wasn't to watch the 
sunset. This was supposed to be a social visit. He was saved from 
asking when Leroy grinned and answered, "What does it look like? 
We're watching the sunset."

"You came up here to watch the sunset?" asked Chuck surprised 
by the answer. 

"We do this every night," said Ed.

"Oh."

Silence descended upon the group as the sun lowered in sky. Reds, 
oranges, greens, and yellows spread across the horizon. The sight 
took Ed's breath away despite the number of times he had watched 
sunsets from that chair. Leroy was just as appreciative of the view. 
Chuck fidgeted in his chair and watched the other two men. 

Noticing the apparent discomfort of their guest, Ed said, "I take it 
you don't watch sunsets very often."

"No," replied Chuck with a negligent shrug of his shoulders. He 
was too busy building his business to sit around and stare off into 
the sky. He was still waiting for the business proposition that he 
was sure was the real reason for the invitation to the roof.

"Pity," said Ed. "I can think of no reason not to watch one of the 
greatest shows on earth when ever possible."

"I've been busy building up my business," countered Chuck hoping 
to steer the direction of the conversation.

Shaking his head, Leroy said, "What a horrible price to pay for 
success."

"Huh?"

Nodding his head in agreement, Ed added, "I agree."

Chuck sat back in his chair and stared at the two men. Ed and 
Leroy turned their attention back to the skyline and watched as the 
colors of the sky deepened. After a couple of minutes, Ed asked, 
"Did you play football in high school?"

"No. I was a nerd and spent most of high school working on my 
computer. I was already working on my business at that time," 
Chuck answered hoping to steer the conversation towards business.

The answer surprised Ed since he had originally pegged Chuck as 
a former high school football player. He commented, "You're built 
like you played football."

"I was a skinny kid in school. It wasn't until college that I gained a 
bit a weight although it was basically fat. I guess you've heard of 
the Freshman fifteen. Well, I put on about double that. Once I got a 
little success in my business, I started working out," said Chuck. 

Eyes focused on the horizon, but not seeing anything, Chuck 
thought about the reason he had started working out and wearing 
suits. Four years before, one of his customers had told him that he 
was too nerdy for the management of the company to trust. The 
man had further explained that Chuck needed to change his image 
in order for his business to grow. Chuck had listened to the advice 
after looking around at the people who had succeeded in the high 
tech business. It was his hope that he had achieved the look, but 
not the snake-oil salesman tone.

Leroy looked over at Chuck and said, "Looks like your workouts 
have been successful."

"Thanks. I owe it all to my personal trainer," replied Chuck as he 
turned to look at his companions on the roof. He wished they 
would get down to business and let him know why they wanted 
him on the roof.

As the colors of the sunset faded to black, Ed turned and examined 
Chuck with a frown. He realized that the man didn't know how to 
take a moment to appreciate the natural beauty around him. He 
asserted, "You don't believe that we invited you up here to watch 
the sunset."

Much to Ed's disappointment, Ed heard the lie when Chuck 
answered, "No, I'm sure that's why you invited me up here."